Durkon Thundershield
Durkon Allotrope'''Comic 963, "Internal Struggles" Thundershield''' was the party cleric of the Order of the Stick, hired by Roy Greenhilt. He served as a healer, spiritual adviser and backup melee fighter (often using Thor's might). A 55-year-old Dwarf, Durkon was born to Tenrin and Sigdi Thundershield.Comic #991, "A Sergeant and a Sapper" He worshiped Thor, and his chosen domains were Air and Good (evidenced through his ability to cast Control Winds and Holy Smite, respectively). Following his death and reanimation at the hands of the vampire Cleric Malack, Durkon was brought back as a vampire, his body controlled by a spirit of negative energy created by the Goddess of Death of the Northern Pantheon, Hel, which answered as her High Priest while posing as the real Durkon to the rest of the Order. After the destruction of the vampire by Belkar, the disposition of Durkon's soul arrived in the Northern afterlife, near Valhalla. Biography Pre-Order Durkon was born to Tenrin and Sigdi Thundershield in the dwarven lands, where he stayed throughout his early life. His mother, a former sergeant in the dwarven army, lost her right hand due to a failed mission which ended with several of her squad dead, including her husband. Though she did not speak of the event, Durkon eventually learned of the events through his Uncle Thirden. Though he wished for his mother to have her hand healed, the family didn't have the means to pay for the healing, or even to travel to the capital where they could get the healing. Nevertheless, Durkon was motivated to heal his mother's hand, first trying his hand at mining and working with his Aunt Shirra at the silver mines. By his own admission, he was never very talented at mining, and so he instead joined the temple of Thor as a cleric and lived within its walls. Durkon was ordained by High Priest Hurak at the temple of Thor in the dwarvish city of Firmament, with his family and friends in attendance.Comic #1086, "Look Inside" There was a reception following in a hall owned by the temple of Odin. Seventeen years prior to the formation of the Order of the Stick, Durkon was visited by Hurak, who informed him that the deity had selected him for a mission to human lands. Durkon was to remain with humans indefinitely, ostensibly until he was summoned home to act as a cultural instructor to his people. However, the true reason for the "mission" was that the priest of Odin had arrived at the temple that morning with a prophecy that, when Durkon next returned home, he would bring death and destruction upon his people. In order to thwart the prophesy, the high priest had no intention of ever calling Durkon home, leaving him effectively banished for life; possibly an unnecessary deception, as given Durkon's extreme sense of duty, he might well have accepted lifelong banishment for the good of his people. Durkon would not discover the reason behind his banishment until after his death where he was told by Minrah in the afterlife. On the Origin of PCs Durkon made his way to human lands, where he almost immediately got off onto the wrong foot with the first humans that he met, then was appalled to discover that the best beer in human lands tasted, in his opinion, like moose urine. Around this period, Durkon got his first food poisoning from human cooking, throwing up in a can for around 6 hours.Comic 1089, "Scents and Cents Ability" Fourteen years later, Durkon was part of an adventuring group. Having grown surly and unpleasant as a result of his experiences, he was frequently sent on apparently suicidal missions by his allies. When his party accepted a mission to deal with a group of orcs who were causing problems in a nearby village, Durkon was paired with a newly recruited fighter, Roy Greenhilt. In the course of another suicide mission, Roy threw himself in the way of an attack that the dwarf hadn't seen coming, earning a measure of trust from the dwarf. When Roy subsequently negotiated a peaceful settlement between the village and the orcs, who it turned out were only in the area for a concert, Durkon came to realize that there was at least one human worth knowing. Roy left the group, which had simply wanted to slaughter the orcs, that being quicker and more convenient than negotiating, and Durkon followed him, agreeing to be a part of any party the fighter subsequently founded. Roy and Durkon traveled together for the next three years, searching for clues to the whereabouts of the lich, Xykon. Finally getting the necessary information from the Oracle of Sunken Valley, they came to the conclusion that more allies would be required to assault Xykon's stronghold. Returning to a nearby town, Roy recruited four other adventurers to join the party, and the Order of the Stick was born. The Order of the Stick Dungeon Crawlin' Fools Durkon was a highly effective member of the team since its formation. As the team cleric, his healing spells were often in demand and he served alongside Roy as one of the Order's front line warriors. He sometimes had difficulty having his spells granted by Thor due to the ThorPrayer receptionist archon not being able to understand his dwarven accent. During their exploration of the Dungeon of Dorukan, he had a brief affair with Hilgya Firehelm, a female dwarf cleric of Loki and his "evil opposite" in the Linear Guild. When Durkon got seperated from the Order during the scuffle with the Guild, they ultimately met up. After having sexual intercourse in a dark room, Durkon learned that Hilgya left her husband, which prompted Durkon to give her a lecture on what it really meant to be a dwarf, which caused Hilgya to run away. When Durkon met up with the Order, they were still saddened and refused to talk about what happened. After adventuring with the Order and arriving to the entrance to Xykon's throne room, Durkon put a Shield of Faith spell on Roy and put the most important buff on his sword: Disruption. Durkon is paired up with Vaarsuvius but Belkar left them to fight goblins, leaving them to be surrounded by goblins and ghasts. Durkon then used Thor's Might, becoming a giant and killing all the surrounding goblins. Durkon attempted to get to Xykon and kill the zombie ogres, but Redcloak healed the damage dealt to them. Following the villains' retreat and Elan's triggering of the gate's self destruct rune, Durkon escaped the exploding gatewith the others. No Cure for the Paladin Blues When the Order divided up the magical items, Durkon got to pick first, to which he chose the Amulet of Natural Armor, commenting that it will set his AC into the Stratosphere. He visits the "Fine Gnomish Armor" shop, finding mostly useless items or items that are against the user instead. When arriving at the Wooden Forest, Durkon is paralyzed out of fear, explaining all the reasons why trees are people's greatest enemies. While the others were captured, Durkon stood guard. He misinterpreted a making out between 2 bandits as the tree threatening to eat him, causing him to panic and run away. After Roy comes to the revelation that he has to save Elan (and the others), Durkon runs past. Roy is forced to bind and gag Durkon because of him panicking about trees. Roy carries him on his back, but manages to fall off near the edge of the camp, and the Order is defeated. After Samantha's Father becomes the new bandit king, the Bandits, thinking Durkon is a prisoner, took off his gag. Durkon uses a Thor's Lightning on a tree, which causes a tree to fall on the bandit king, which causes Durkon to become the new leader. in chains.]] Durkon disbands the bandit clan, not before ordering them to give him a giant gold tankard filled with beer. Still on the quest for starmetal, the trail leads down a giant hole. The Order climbs down, but Durkon loses his grip and causes the entire Order to fall down, V (as a lizard) uses a Feather Fall to save them though. When Miko Miyazaki attacked the Order, Durkon refused to fight, believing the rain to be a sign from Thor (in reality Thor was drunk and wearing a blindfold). After the battle, he proved Roy was not evil, showing Miko that the evilness from Xykon's crown made Roy appear evil when she used Detect Evil beforehand. Later, Durkon convinced Haley not to leave the group, saying that it's a free trip. After the destruction of the Weary Travelers Inn and Tavern, Durkon was the only one not in chains or a terrible state by Miko due to him being the only one disagreeing with Roy refusing to follow Miko. Being put in prison and awaiting to meet Shojo, the others escape their jail cells. However, Miko reaches the cells before they go out the door, and Haley rushes them back into the cells. The door swings open, and Miko questions Durkon if they were trying to escape. Durkon, loopholing through not lying, says that the five 'of them never left their cells and that lockpicking the doors was a mechanical defect. He may still possess the ''Girdle of Feminity/Masculinity which Roy discarded after Durkon helped him remove it with a Remove Curse spell during their escapades at the Weary Travelers Inn and Tavern. War and XPs As a boon from Lord Shojo of Azure City, a messenger, in this case Miko Miyazaki, was sent to Durkon's homeland to obtain permission from the High Priest of Thor to allow Durkon home. It would be revealed later that Hurak had died years ago, and the new High Priestess could find in her predecessor's notes no mention of or justification for Durkon's ostracism; she wrote for Durkon to come home at any time. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately, given the original reason for his exile), the letter was eaten by The Monster In The Darkness.Comic #375, "Undeliverable" The message was in a sealed diplomatic pouch, making any verbal communication of the message impossible, as the courier, the now-deceased Miko Miyazaki, was far too honorable to have opened it up. When the Order revisited the Oracle of Sunken Valley to gain new information about Xykon's whereabouts, Durkon asked "How will I finally be returnin' ta me beloved dwarven homelands?", the Oracle answered, "Posthumously". Durkon, who had previously believed that he would die in human lands and his body torn apart by animals or left to rot, found comfort in this idea, believing that he would ultimately be reunited with his family. This actually was predicting Durkon's body's return in the form of a vampire. During their effort to free Julia Greenhilt from the Linear Guild in Cliffport, Durkon fled when faced with the trees awakened by Leeky Windstaff, the new divine caster for the Guild, due to his dendrophobia (see below). However, from a safe distance, Durkon was able to cast the decisive blow in that battle through a clever (and rules-bending) use of Control Weather to create damaging sonic boom. Thor thought it was cool though so he allowed it. During the Battle of Azure City, Durkon fought on the battlements along with Haley, Elan, Belkar, and Lord Hinjo. They held their section of the wall effectively, but the city was ultimately overrun through a breach in the wall on the other side, and they were forced to flee into the tunnels beneath the city. With Haley and Belkar splitting off to retrieve Roy's body, Durkon and Elan went with Hinjo to the docks. There, Durkon came to the rescue of Lien, holding off a company of hobgoblins and a cleric while they waited for the rest of the party. Ultimately, he, Elan and Vaarsuvius were forced to leave with Hinjo without the rest of the party. Don't Split the Party At sea with the Azurites, Durkon was unable to contact Haley. He advised Vaarsuvius to give up their obsession with contacting her. Durkon fought skraggs and was involved in the diplomatic mission to Orc Island. When Kubota was plotting to overthrow Hinjo, Durkon was part of the team that disguised themselves as trees (though Durkon went as a bush, naturally, due to his dendrophobia) to trap Therkla. Durkon helped lower the resistances of the pit fiend in the ensuing battle, once using his Thor's Might to use as a spring for Argent and Hinjo. After the scuffle is over, Vaarsuvius leaves, with some arguing with Durkon. When Haley was finally able to contact Durkon through a Sending spell cast by a Cleric of Loki, He and Elan Wind Walked across the Sea to Greysky City to rejoin Haley, Belkar, and Celia. They sacked Hieronymous Grubwiggler's castle to recover Roy's remains before the Soul Spliced Vaarsuvius teleported everyone back to the fleet, and the fleet to an island off the coast of the Western Continent. It was there that Durkon cast Resurrection to finally restore Roy to life. Blood Runs in the Family After the party's failed attempt to locate Girard's Gate, Durkon was again separated from the party after the capture of Haley, Elan, and V by bounty hunters and Roy and Belkar by the police. He entered Bleedingham as a religious pilgrim, where he met and befriended Malack. During his time with Malack, the lizardfolk helped Durkon research a new spell, Mass Death Ward. Malack secretly implanted a back door to bypass the spell's protections ("Xxzerkqei"). Upon arriving at Windy Canyon, Durkon was unable to use his magic to find Girard's Pyramid. At the pyramid, he tried raising one of the Draketooth mummies from the dead, but they refused to be raised, and made jokes with his Speak with Dead spell. Durkon, along with the rest of the Order, was bested by Tarquin and retreated into the pyramid. Inside, Durkon was able to disable much of the Linear Guild and force them to retreat with a clever ambush involving a smokestick, a Meld Into Stone spell, and finally a Holy Word spell. death.]] When Belkar got separated from the party by riding a hell hound, Durkon went to find him. Finding Belkar being bitten to death by Malack, he casts Mass Death Ward on him, saving his life. After some discussion, Durkon makes the choice to defeat Malack and resurrect him. Seemingly getting the hand over Malack, Malack ensnares him with his own body, using a back door to get rid of the Mass Death Ward spell on Durkon, and biting him to death. Durkon, expressed acceptance, because he believed he could finally return home now.Comic #877, "The Bright Side (877)" Immediately afterwards, Malack raised him as a vampire using an unspecified spell to expedite the process. He then served Malack as a thrall for a short period before Malack's destruction at Nale's hands, following which he immediately attacked Nale and Zz'dtri. After killing Zz'dtri, he immediately moved to help the Order, pointing out to Roy that the world was still at stake and that vampire Durkon's new alignment didn't mean he was any more evil than Belkar. Current Activities See also: "Durkon" aka High Priest of Hel The vampire Durkon continued to assist the Order with various healing spells and in combat, aid that was accepted by the rest of the party — save Belkar, who encouraged Roy to destroy vampire Durkon immediately. Sadly, Belkar's fears were entirely valid. As party headed north to Kraagor's Gate, Durkon's consciousness was revealed to be trapped within his body and a new consciousness given by Hel, the dwarves' goddess of dishonourable death, had taken over. Durkon's body was controlled by this vampire spirit, known variously as "Durkon*" or the High Priest of Hel. During his soul's imprisonment, Durkon has revealed various episodes from his past to "Durkon" (see "Early Chronological Appearances", below). Durkon's middle name was revealed to be Allotrope and he realized that he could at least irritate the High Priest of Hel if nothing else with his bad joke memories. Durkon's body continued to be used by "Durkon" for his schemes which unfolded at Godsmoot. Ultimately Roy was able to differentiate "Durkon" from Durkon, and fought the vampire. "Durkon" then teleported to Firmament. attempting to fix the outcome of the Council of Clans in favor of destroying the world. While "Durkon" unfolded his plans at the Council of the Clans Firmament, Durkon learned of the birth of his son, Kudzu, when Hilgya Firehelm joined with the Order to fight the vampires. Durkon then convinced his vampire captor to let him show one final memory, in return for protecting the life of his child. The memory, which he showed his vampire spirit, was of his mother spending the entire fortune, she gained in the ill-fated raid that killed Tenrin and took her arm, on raising five complete strangers from the dead in order to save them from an afterlife under Hel. The same money could have been spent raising Tenrin, but she did not want to deprive him of the place he had earned for himself in Valhalla. This memory confounded his vampire spirit captor, who demanded explanation. Durkon complied by unleashing all of his memories on the spirit at once, which had the effect of turning the spirit into Durkon himself. The vampire then deactivated his magical defensives, and allowed Belkar to stake him though the heart, killing him. Freed from the vampire, Durkon's soul traveled to the plane of Celestia, the afterlife of Lawful Good characters, where he met Minrah's spirit. The two of them found themselves to be on the boot of Thor, who reduced in size to talk to them. Explaining that he needed Durkon's help, he took the two dwarves to visit the Astral Plane, and to the pocket dimension where the gods kept memorials for all the worlds destroyed in the conflict with the Snarl. Personality and Traits Durkon is something of a stereotypical dwarf, wearing heavy armor, carrying a powerful weapon, possessing a low charisma, having a great interest in beer and so forth, although - as noted in the paragraph below - he also subverts this stereotype somewhat. He was a very honest person, although he has lied by omitting the whole truth. This is shown when he convinces Miko that the Order didn't try to escape there cells by saying [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0264.html the '''five of them never left their cells (Durkon did not, the others did) and that the doors were unlocked because of a mechanical defect ("I dinno, I count, "able to be picked by a Rogue" as a major defect, aye?")]. He is dutiful, pious (often attributing his god Thor with more purpose and planning than the rather wild god typically displays), unassuming and stoic. He believes in speaking plainly, rarely resorting to the wit or sarcasm often used (or at least attempted) by his teammates. He speaks (and, oddly enough, writes) with a stereotype Scottish accent. Though not immune to temptation, he believes strongly in proper behavior; while he ogled Haley along with the rest of the males in the party on one occasion when she suffered a 'wardrobe malfunction', he chastised Julia Greenhilt when she attempted to flirt with him to gain his attention. This is probably because, while the party saw Haley naked by accident, Julia was attempting to use her body on him deliberately, and Durkon's strong morals prevented such behavior. He was also horrified to learn after sleeping with Hilgya that she is still marriedComic #83, "Pillow Talk", and angrily chews her out for leaving her husbandComic #84, "Saddest. Comic. Ever.". While Durkon generally fits the concept of a dwarf very well, he is also very much, like other members of his party, a counter-stereotype, too, in his case to the traditional "drunken dwarf fighter". Despite loving beer, Durkon had never been shown as drunk, and is fully capable of holding massive amounts of liquor (drinking ten beers in ten seconds while New Year's was counting down in Azure City and it has been noted in the Priest's letter that dwarves have 2 livers). Likewise, though most dwarves in fantasy novels are the goofy comic relief, Durkon acts as the other "straight man" besides Roy (who is also a counter-stereotype of his class) of his party; and despite wearing heavy armor and weapons, Durkon tended to rely more on his spells than his sheer physical might. It has been noted though, that "He'd be a pretty good warrior if he had a better head for numbers". He also showed little indication of the stereotypical dwarven greed. Upon conquering a bandit clan, he ordered them to prepare a lunch for the Order for the road, and a giant gold tankard of beer for his own personal use. However, his very next order would be for the clan to disband, as banditry is not only wrong, it is also dangerous. Durkon had been described in the print comic, On The Origin Of PCs, as being lawful. In strip #844 of the main series, Haley notes that his full alignment is Lawful Good. This is best shown when he lectures Hilgya about the importance of duty to dwarves, and how they must do their duty even if it makes them miserable ("ESPECIALLY if it makes ye miserable!") He hates the undead and reflexively tried to turn them as soon as they are even mentioned. He also, apparently in common with the rest of his people, had a severe phobia regarding trees, believing them to be powerful stealthy monsters. He was an active worshiper of Thor, always wearing a W.W.T.D (What Would Thor Do?) prayer necklace. Relationships Order of the Stick Roy Greenhilt Roy Greenhilt was the first human Durkon befriended after leaving the Dwarven Lands, being impressed by Roy protecting him from a goblin attack and using his head to resolve a problem when he could have used his sword. They would party together for a while, and became the founding members of the Order of the Stick. Enemies Malack Both being religious clerics and having come from a similar position of being the sole reason that their suicidal adventuring team survives, the two quickly formed a friendship after Malack reminiscences about his adventuring cleric days to Durkon, and they later both told each other of their party tales and their religions. They had a enough of a friendship that Malack later invited him to the royal state dinner and added him on Macebook, and that Durkon trusted him enough to deny Haley's reasons for being suspicious of Malack and Tarquin. Malack later saved Elan and Durkon from Nale, though he claims to do it for justice for the murder of his offspring, Malack is seen being stern with Elan when talking with him, but is more happier and appreciative when talking with Durkon.Comic 812, "And Yet, the Canned Meat Merchant Still Gets Through" When Tarquin convinced Malack to join the Linear Guild, Malack joined on the requirement that he handles Durkon alone, saying that he deserves the honor regardless of his deception of being affiliated with the rest of the Order. When finally confronting Durkon in the pyramid, Malack attempted to negotiate, but after Durkon repeatedly angrily refuses due to Malack being the enemy, Malack briefly solemn their loss of friendship, and begin to attack Durkon. After Malack kills Durkon after their duel, Malack lays the corpse of Durkons hand's on his chest, and talks to his corpse, and proceeds to speed the process of Durkon turning into a vampire. Malack tells his thrall that he hopes to release him so that they can engage as peers. Malack noticeably treats Durkon as if he was one of his sons before Malack was murdered. Malack respected Durkon's wish of not killing the Order, sparing Belkar's life and not ratting out the Order when they were hiding behind an invisible wall. Others Early Chronological Appearances Starting with comic #947, several bits and pieces of Durkon's early life were revealed (before the events seen in On the Origin of PCs. In chronological order, the relevant comics include: *#991 - A Sergeant and a Sapper (birth) *#947 - Keep in Mind (about three to five years old in human terms) *#962 - Just Think How Many Times He's Seen Himself Naked (about five to ten years old in human terms) *#983 - A Healer's Reason (perhaps between 12 and 18 years in human terms) *#954 - Contractual Riders on the Storm (about 16 to 25 years in human terms) Powers and Abilities *'Cleric Abilities': Durkon was a cleric of Thor for several years at his temple in the Dwarven lands before being forced to leave **'Turn Undead': As a Cleric, Durkon was entitled to uses of Turn Undead. He has a low Charisma score, but he also has the Extra Turning feat, meaning he can Turn Undead between 3 and 6 times per day, depending on what his Charisma score actually is. (All that can be known for sure is that it is less than 10, so there is at best a -1 modifier). **'Good Domain': Prior to his death, Durkon's chosen domain was Good, as seen by his use of the spell "Holy Smite". He seems to have access to another domain, based on his Control Wind spell and others, but it is unclear if it is the Air domain, Weather domain, or some home-brewed domain for Thor. **'High Wisdom': Durkon had a high Wisdom stat, which was required for him to be able to cast a seventh level spell such as "Holy Word". Furthermore, he saw Thor's drunken-induced storm as a warning against the Order when they first met the Paladin Miko Miyazaki, which despite Thor's intent he interpreted correctly. *'Darkvision': As a Dwarf, Durkon was capable of seeing in the dark up to 80 feet. *Based on the number of spells he was able to cast during the day he fought Malack, Durkon was 14th level. Equipment and Weapons *'Holy Symbol': A requirement for many Cleric spells, Durkon always carried a gold-and-blue holy symbol with which he could focus his abilities. *'Heirloom Light Steel Warhammer and Shield': Durkon's signature weapon, his warhammer and shield were heirlooms that were passed on to him by the time he had become a cleric. "Durkon"* has never been seen with the Warhammer, so it may have been lost in Girard's pyramid. *'Amulet of Natural Armor': Gained from the loot retrieved from the Dungeon of Dorukan, Durkon took the amulet, saying that it sent his AC into the stratosphere. *'Full Plate Armor': Durkon's armor is non-magical, and makes a good amount of noise. *'Scroll of Sending': Durkon possesses at least one scroll of Sending, according to Vaarsuvius. *Durkon also possesses the following items: candles, a bedroll, a deck of cards, a parcheesi board, a spyglass, religious vestments, a belt pouch, Bleedingham papers, a flask of liquor, 10,000+ gp of diamond dust. The Order of the Stick Adventure Game Durkon Thundershield is one of the characters players may choose when playing the Order of the Stick Adventure Game. The abilities of the character are reflective of his personality and skills as depicted in the comic, with cards titled such things as Thor's Lightning, Cure Assorted Wounds, and W.W.T.D.?. One of his "Loot" obtainable in the game include "Shield of Sparrow Deflection," "Beer of Annilation," and "Thor's Love," which is a note in the shape of a heart with laces. Trivia *Durkon's last words were: "I get ta go home" *The idea of Durkon turning into an undead has been part of OOTS "literally longer than there has been a plan for OOTS," when the Order of The Stick was supposed to be continuity free. Durkon was originally supposed to turn into a ghoul as part of the punchline for #3 when Rich Burlew decided to put it aside and drew the new current comic page.Blood Runs in The Family EXTRAS! "No Compromise" *He had been bald for forty years—apparently he went bald at 15.Comic 754, "Maybe She Ate a Zeppelin" Gallery Durkon2.gif Hereby Cleric Durkon.PNG|Durkon when he was accepted as a cleric. Human Terms 3-5 Yr. Durkon.PNG Kid Durkon Front.PNG School Durkon.PNG References Category:Characters Category:Dwarves Category:Dead Characters Category:Lawful Good Characters Category:Lawful Characters Category:Good Characters Category:Males Category:Clerics Category:Order of the Stick Category:Thundershields